GRAND RAPIDS -- As curator for ArtPrize entries at The Grand Rapids Press, Scott LaFontsee believes the three artists showing their work at 155 Michigan St. NW are going to fulfill the art competition's intentions -- start a conversation.

"For me and The Press, I really wanted diversity. I wanted stuff that would draw people over to The Press that people would go see it, LaFontsee said. "The goal is to draw attention to The Press."

With 25 years of helping artists gain reputations and helping clients appreciate art, the owner of LaFontsee Galleries/Underground Studio sees ArtPrize as a way to also celebrate aspects of art that aren't so serious.

"For us, part of art in ArtPrize is the celebration of art for everyone, not just for artists," said LaFontsee, who also helped curate Sixth Street Park/Canal Street Park and is helping curate pieces for the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. "And yet, at the same time, it can't be too serious. That's how we feel about it."

The Press' artists range from variety and illustrative artists to sculptors to painters who are taking a risk. LaFontsee saw conversation starters in all of their work:

• On "Cirque Acirca" -- "What interested me about them was that it would be theatrical -- the ever-changing landscape of that particular piece of art, because it was live."

• On "San Pier Niceto" -- "When it's lit at night, it's like a beacon," he said. 'I really liked how he was connecting it to his heritage."

• On "The Electric Trailer" -- "I thought no matter what direction you saw it, you'd have to go over there. You'd have to go, 'What the heck is that?'"

Here's a quick look at what each entry is about and what you will see when you visit:

Jessica Scott | The Grand Rapids PressTed Jauw, of Grand Rapids, lines up a chalk line while mapping out a grid for a large-scale mural he, his family and others of Cirque Acirca are painting on the ground of the Grand Rapids Press parking lot B Wednesday afternoon.Jessica Scott | The Grand Rapids PressChicago Artist Joseph Colosi's 15-foot tall, 4-foot wide Cor-Ten steel sculpture titled "San Pier Niceto" sits on the lawn of the Grand Rapids Press at the corner of Michigan Street NW and Monroe Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids.Jessica Scott | The Grand Rapids PressFrom left, David Warmenhoven, of Jenison, Reb Roberts and Tom Duimstra, both of East Grand Rapids, glue toys to display windows on the outside of a vintage AirStream trailer parked on the front lawn of the Grand Rapids Press as a part of an ArtPrize entry by a collection of artists. The trailer uses light to showcase the portholes as well as create projections.

Seven local variety/performance and visual artists are creating a permanent mural of sorts on the asphalt in The Press' parking lot on Monroe Avenue north of the building.

The actual ArtPrize entry is the permanent painting, which will be completed throughout the 19-day competition so onlookers can watch the live art.

The ambigram, which reads "Love," is the group's message for the piece, which is helping to raise awareness for the Mental Health Foundation of Grand Rapids.

"We're going to be asking anyone who has suffered a loss or a suicide in the family or has dealt with mental illness to come down and to write their name or their story on the lot," Ted Jauw said.

The group will provide Sharpies so anyone can write on the 300-by-80-foot painting.

The group of circus and variety performers will take to the streets of the ArtPrize district, including The B.O.B., ArtPrize artist Rick Beerhorst's "Plan B" entry along the Grand River at the Ford Museum and at local art gallery Destination 1111.

"Part of it was this metaphor of everybody at some point in their life, when they're in trouble, wants to run away and join the circus," said Jauw, a fire breather. "We believe that finding your own passion, finding your own circus, finding your own reason to live ... that it boils down basically to love, whether it's to love yourself or love your profession or your passion or whatever it is. The reason people find healing is to find some sort of love."

"San Pier Niceto" Artist: Joseph Colosi

San Pier Niceto, artist Joseph Colosi's ancestral town in Sicily, is the inspiration for his 1-inch-thick plate steel sculpture depicting the mountain that houses the town. He recently visited the place this summer and created the sculpture three months ago.

"This is my interpretation of that mountain," he said en route from Chicago, where the New York native has spent the last 25 years. "This big slanted front represents the peak of the mountain."

The inside is painted white and contains a light that shines through Moorish cutouts. The cutouts resemble wallpaper inside a family heirloom truck from his great grandparents, who first came to America from San Pier Niceto in Sicily.

The white interior represents the "white, brilliant, pure and just so open" people of Sicily, juxtaposed with Sicily's rugged landscape.

"It's really the tale of two Sicilys," the 42-year-old said.

The piece is headed to Purdue University following ArtPrize for an October show.

The piece -- a 1966 Streamline Empress trailer decked out with '60s kitsch, LED lights, videos, cameras and music -- originally blossomed out of the Japanese "Dekatora" trend, which is decorating semis and their trailers with neon, electric lights, chrome and gold.

"I mean, it's the most gaudy thing you've ever seen," LaFontsee said. "Rigs look more like pinball machines than they do a truck."

Grand Rapids artist Reb Roberts collaborated with others to create what he describes as "high-tech-meets-make-believe with lights."

While the space-like piece is lighted during the day, it can only be fully enjoyed at night, the artists said.

Video projections show downtown street scenes while throwing in outtakes from an eye surgery, just to keep everyone on their toes, said collaborator David Warmenhoven.

The trailer also comes with a tail from an actual jet and its own story of being a time machine for someone to reach the Parallel Universe.

"It's camping out in a spacey kind of way," said collaborator Perry Seavitt.

And yes, that is the psychedelic rock strains of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" that you keep hearing from the trailer.